"The ends you serve that are selfish will take you no further than yourself; but the ends you serve that are for all, in common, will take you into eternity" - Marcus Garvey

The Sins Of A Father

There’s a saying that goes, “the sins of the father are visited upon the child.” When one commits a crime, and ends up in prison, rarely does that individual take into account the hardship which he/she has now placed at feet of their love ones. Those that they say, that they love and care for, also suffer the same fate as we do, be it in a different way, they pay a heavy price none the less. Countless family members travel many hours, (risking lives and limbs on those highways) to visit their incarcerated love ones.

At the age of 22, I was sentenced to 45 years in the Virginia Department of Correction. At that time, I was the father to an 8-year-old and an 8-month-old, from two different relationships. Though I was able to maintain a strong relationship with my eldest child who, 12 years later has graduated from high school with honors, and is now attending college with a 3.8 GPA. My youngest child didn’t get to know me, or have a relationship with my family. Her mother took her and moved to another state. In October of 2016, she left this world never knowing her father and my never to know her. We will never have the opportunity to meet and embrace each other. My daughter, gone too young. We are never prepared to lose a child, we prepare ourselves for the passing of our elders, but never a child!I’ve lost my daughter to an automobile accident. I often wonder, if the choices I made had been different, my child may not have been in that car. However, everything happens for a reason, as difficult as it is to accept that, we have to find closure in our hearts. I lost my child, I gain some understanding and a somber outlook on life.By: Amir